Be the Change You Want to Teach

“As the mom in my home, I kind of set the tone. I can make things better, or worse, by the part I play in our family dynamics. I realize that I have a choice. I can be angry at them, or I can focus on improving my behavior and be a better influence in our home environment.” These were Kate’s words at the end of a lovely women’s retreat day on Sunday. I don’t know Kate personally, but she hit the nail on the head as she shared her take-away in our end-of-day reflections. She felt empowered by identifying a change she can make.

Change surrounds me today as I begin a new work week. My workout club has the word plastered all over as they promote “Change” as their programming theme.  And my day began with a note from First 3o Days, a website devoted to helping people adopt and embrace the changes they wish to make. Ariane de Bonvoisin, the founder of First 30 Days collects and connect experts and every-day folks around the theme of change, providing support, tools and inspiration for moving through and beyond what holds you back. (I’m delighted to be their highlighted guest expert today!)

I think about all the change that we experience in raising our teenagers…. it’s nonstop and sometimes exhausting. But when you can take a little time to reflect, as Kate did at the retreat on Sunday, you gain a perspective that empowers you to find a better you… and this is where “change” becomes personal and empowering.

Whether it’s a little tweak, a small change, or a dramatic reinvention of ourselves, the intentional changes that we choose to make are vitally important for our kids to see. They will learn how to deal with life by watching how we manage ourselves. They will learn to be empowered, to take action and embrace life’s changes, or they will learn to be the victim.

How do you handle change? Be the change you want to teach your teens.